Traditional aid programs are struggling in the country. But a less conventional program with less conventional goals seems to show a better model. – Joshua Foust
Excerpt: One good model might be the Rural Support Programmes Network. A sprawling collection of local NGOs, the RSPN was founded by the Aga Khan Network in 1982, and has since become its own, separate program. While the stats about its reach are impressive — reaching millions of the poorest homes across a vast swath of Pakistan — what’s especially fascinating about RSPN are its methods.
Put simply, RSPN has a different focus than normal aid programs. They emphasize the development of institutions first, and only after that institution is established do they worry about its output or performance. The NGO also heavily invests in the smallest scale of the community, from conceptualization to execution, hiring mostly locals to administer projects. Lastly, they have extraordinarily long project timelines — sometimes as long as 15 years from start to finish.
via A Radically Different Way of Bringing U.S. Aid to Pakistan – Joshua Foust – The Atlantic.
Ismailimail 